Tenants looking to move house may have a wider choice thanks to a Swindon Council drive to bring empty properties back into use.

More than 40 private landlords from around Swindon attended a council-run exhibition and forum on Tuesday for advice on how to do up their vacant houses and put them on the market.

An empty home is one that has been unoccupied for more than six months. There are currently 1,500 such homes in the town a figure that has remained steady over the past few years.

Since the council started its drive in 1997 it has helped bring 400 properties back into use, at a rate of about 50 a year.

Mike Ash, the council's head of housing strategy, said Swindon's private rented sector was growing and there was a high tenant demand for properties.

He said there had been an encouraging response from landlords to the exhibition and forum at the town's Pilgrim Centre.

"We're hoping it will lead to more properties coming back into use over the next few months," he added.